Web Development in the Cloud

Cloud computing has emerged as arguably the biggest disruptor in Information Technology. All verticals in an organization – sales, marketing, finance, logistics, etc. have reengineered themselves to leverage the vast advantages offered by cloud computing. The cloud has changed the manner of how applications are analyzed, developed, tested, and put into production. With the cloud proving beneficial as far as cost and agility is concerned, web and application development has undergone a massive priority and paradigm shift. From performance management to backup and recovery, configuration management to build automation, release management to datacenter deployment, cloud and on-demand services have penetrated the developer space in gigantic proportions.

Web development in the cloud via an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) encompasses all aspects of the web development cycle, from analysis to production without the dependencies on local resources and software licensing. Such an environment encourages developers of all skill levels to develop applications in HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, Python, etc. This is in stark contrast to conventional desktop-based IDEs which are fast becoming outdated combined with serious productivity issues. Here’s why:

Desktop environments often turn out to be a nightmare for developers who have to manage the entire management of their workspaces from configuration to build deployment. This is a repetitive task that hampers productivity. As if it is not enough, often a developer has to create workspaces in different computers repeating the process all over.

These workspaces are not available on mobile devices. Developers can only access the workspaces remotely through secured VPN, only if the IT team allows them to.

Collaboration is a major bottleneck in such environments. Real time communication which every cloud based tool offers at a minimum is sadly missing in a desktop environment. Developers have extra responsibility to collaborate and perform peer programming outside the scope of their environment.

On the other end of the spectrum, cloud based development is more centralized, collaborative, and encourages innovation. All components like build system, runtime environment, data dependencies, etc. are easily taken care of by a cloud-based IDE. Developers can easily tap into the vast developer community and perform pair programming real time with access to plugins and other coding components that are readily available on the web. Web development in the cloud has opened new avenues for innovation and fostered an environment of efficiency and productivity, while giving a developer ample access to resources and configurable workspaces.